Faltered Boundaries
by Last Call 4 Sin
Summary: A story about Love, betrayal, and twists. Sam, Luka, Carter, Abby.
1. Chapter 1

**Faltered Boundaries**

Chapter One 

'Running away … is that all I'm good at? When the going gets tough … I get going.' Sam sighed as she brought a weary hand to rub her temples. Then her hand slowly dragged itself back on the steering wheel.

Sam gradually looked at the clock in her dashboard, 10:07. Sam let out a small groan as the stiffness in her back slowly crept up to her neck. She averted her eyes from the red light in front of her, and scrutinized the box that lay beside her on the passengers seat.

Mostly filled with clothes and old photos. Most of the photos held memories that she would have rather forgotten, but she grabbed them anyways. One particular photo lay on top of her clothes. One that was taken ten years ago. It was of her in the hospital. She had just turn sixteen two months before, and in her arms was a baby.

Sam choked back her tears as she remembered the day vividly. Despite her mother's disapproval of her getting pregnant, she was still there for her. There to hold her when she cried. There for her when she named the baby.

Alex.

God how she missed him. He was in a better place.

'Don't think about that now …' Sam pleaded with herself.

Sam placed the photo back on top of her clothes and then wiped a tear that balanced itself on the tip of her nose.

Sam had never been more scared than she was on _that_ day. She needed all the support she could get and by her side was only one person. One person who, despite her anger, was still there. Her child's father didn't even care to show his face.

Steve.

Almost ten years older than her and he got her pregnant. He was the reason as to why she was running in the first place. His stubbornness and alcoholic rage brought her over the edge. She regretted every moment she was with him.

A honk from the car behind her finally brought Sam back into the present. She looked up and saw that the light had changed to green and so she continued to drive.

Drive to a new life. Sam had heard about a nursing position in Chicago and so she packed her bags to go and check it out. Leaving had been easier this time. She hadn't gotten so attached to the last place as she usually did. She had no reason to stay, but every reason to leave.

Sam could feel her eyes become heavier as she urged them to remain open. She knew that it was only a few more minutes till she needed to find a hotel, but she couldn't fight the urge to crawl into a warm bed for the night. She reluctantly pulled into a dingy looking hotel parking lot and stopped her car.

Looking into her wallet, Sam found, "A twenty? … Shit." She had forgotten to grab more on her way out. Sam opened her door and prayed that the place she was walking towards wasn't too expensive.

As soon as she opened the door to the hotel check in, she was hit with a familiar smell of alcohol. There was also a pungent smell of trash mixed in as well. Sam tried to push the smell out of her mind as she continued to walk to the counter.

There was no one behind the counter, so Sam rang the tiny bell beside the cash register. An older man appeared from behind a curtain and looked at her expectantly saying, "Yes?"

Sam cleared her throat and said, "Um … I'd like to rent a room please."

The older man spoke louder this time, "What's that?"

Sam moved closer and said in a louder voice, "I'd like to rent a room."

"How long dear?" He said with a smile, exposing his jagged teeth.

Sam gave him a small grin. "How much is it?"

"Hm …" The old man brought his hand to his chin while he deliberated the price. Finally, after a few moments, he said, "For you, ten bucks a night."

Sam thanked him and told him that she would be staying for two nights. He then gave her a key to her room. After that, she returned to her car and brought the box into her room.

Balancing the box on her hip, Sam fumbled with the key and unlocked the door to her room. Walking in, she examined its décor. It was smaller, with a single bed and a tiny nightstand. There was one poster covering the wood paneled wall. It was a scenic picture of the beach.

After she placed the box on the end of her bed, she decided against gathering the rest of her belongings till morning.

Sam moved her box from the bed to the floor beside it and pulled out pajamas for the night. After emerging from the bathroom, Sam pulled the covers from her bed and slowly crawled into bed.

'This is what I've reduced my life to … living off of twenty dollars and staying at a grimy hotel …' With that thought in mind, Sam drifted off into a listless sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

"Hey Kovac."

"Hm?" Luka moaned. He was lying on the couch inside the lounge and he could hear Frank yell out to him from the doorframe.

"Break time's over sleeping beauty. You're needed in trauma one." Frank said then left, closing the door behind him.

Luka moaned again and peeled the newspaper that had been sitting over his head off. He sat up and placed his head in his hands. He hadn't been getting much sleep lately and he didn't get much last night. He took a week off to clear his head, but that only seemed to make things worse. At home, the pictures and memories surrounded him. Enclosing on him and reminding him of what he'd lost.

Just then, he heard the door open. Instinctively, he looked up to see who it was. He saw Abby staring back at him blankly. Luka's eyes lingered on her. Abby shifted uneasily as she cleared her throat and said, "I forgot some stuff over at your house."

Luka finally broke his gaze and nodded. He didn't want to be reminded of the fact she wasn't living with him anymore right now. The fact that she broke up with him. And also, that she didn't love him anymore. "Um, okay. I'll just uh … I'll just pack it in a box and give it to you tomorrow."

"It's just some clothes and movies."

Luka nodded again and stood up and headed for the door. Abby grabbed a hold of his arm and turned him to face her. "Luka, we can talk about this some more."

Luka shook his head and said, "No. I think you've made your point." With that, he turned and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

--

Sam checked her paper then gazed at the hospital before her. 'County General, this is the place.' Sam got out of her car and staggered towards the main entrance, feeling more nervous as she took a step closer. Each time she started a new job, she felt a twinge of nervousness eat at her.

Walking in, she felt reproachful eyes gazing heavily on her from the customers waiting to be seen. Sam flashed them a small smile and sustained her walk to the front desk.

"I don't' want to!" Sam turned her head and saw that a man was running down the hall screaming "Noooo!" Running behind him was a med student urging the man to stop. "Sir, I have to give you your Haldol. Someone stop him!" The med student stopped to catch his breath as the man continued to run down the hall towards the front desk.

The scene had caught the attention of a lot of eyes and Sam quickly grabbed the syringe out of the med students hand then ran towards the man. Catching up to him, she shoved the needle into him as Carter and Luka ran up and grabbed the man to steady him.

After that, the he settled down and Luka was able to drag him away. When they were out of sight, Carter turned to Sam. "Nice job. Do you work here?"

"Thanks. Um yes, I'm Sam Taggart, the new nurse." Sam said, extending her hand.

Carter took it and shook it gently. "Really? Well that was some entrance Sam."

Sam laughed and began to feel more and more relaxed as she spoke to Carter. "Thanks, I try." She joked.

Carter smiled. "Carter!" He turned around and saw Frank yelling from Admit. "Yes Frank?"

"They need you in trauma one." He replied.

Carter sighed and turned back to Sam, wishing he didn't have to cut their conversation so short. "Duty calls. Guess I'll be seeing you around then huh?"

Sam smiled. "Yeah. I guess you will."


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, I'm kind of new at this Fanfiction thing, so I was wondering something … You know under the Genre listing under "All Genres" it doesn't list my stories … I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else. Anyways … hope you like the story! lol   
Chapter Three 

"Well when do you think I can be seen?" An older middle-aged woman yelled through the glass.

Sam sighed as she repeated the same thing she told every patient who came up to ask her that. "Ma'am a doctor will see you as soon as possible. Just please sit back down and I'll call you up as soon as possible."

The woman stood in front of the glass for a moment, eyeing Sam, before she finally turned around and went back to her seat.

Taking a deep breath, she placed a hand on her neck and tried to massage the stiffness out. The car ride to Chicago left her neck feeling sore and rigid and she hadn't been able to shake the feeling all day.

--

Luka, after just finishing with a trauma, walked over to grab a chart. Rummaging through the papers of one of the charts he picked up, he casually glanced over to the new nurse and saw her massaging her neck. Luka tried to turn his eyes away, but couldn't. The way she casually manipulated at the back of her neck almost made the whole scene seem almost sensual.

He had been impressed with the entrance she made, and he found himself wanting to talk to her, learn more about her. After taking her hand away from her neck, Sam turned and glanced around the ER, she directed her eyes at the Admit desk and saw that Luka was staring straight at her. Embarrassed, Luka quickly averted his eyes back to the chart. Sam smiled at the thought that he had been watching her and she decided to fix her eyes on him.

Although Sam didn't know much about him, she had heard some things from the nurse's station. He was Croatian and had recently broken up with an Abby Lockhart. From what she had heard, it sounded like she ended things with him. Sam wondered why anyone would break off a relationship with this man. He seemed to have a gentle touch with his patients and had an accent that made her melt every time he spoke.

"Miss?" Sam's gaze was broken when she heard an older woman call to her from the other side of the glass.

--

"Luka?" Luka sighed at the call of his name and looked up from the chart he was holding.

Abby raised a brow. "Problem?"

Luka shook his head and tried to hold in his sudden urge to walk away. "No. What do you need?" He knew he was being brief with her, but he figured it would cut their conversation short.

"Are you okay?" Abby questioned, although she knew the answer.

"Perfect." Luka answered, trying not to speak through gritted teeth.

"No you're not okay. You've always been a bad liar."

Luka ran a hand through his hair and sharply turned his head a few inches away from hers. He loudly whispered, "Abby, will you just tell me what you want?"

Abby was about to respond, but instead turned around and walked away, leaving Luka standing there yelling "Fine, walk away. That's what you're good at!"

Many of the patients had their head turned and where now looking at Luka. Luka looked at all of them and yelled out, "What?" Then he took off toward the Lounge.

Carter walked into the lounge to find Luka sitting on the couch with his head bent over in his hands. He quietly walked over and joined him on the couch. "What's going on Luka?"

Luka remained silent for a while, trying to gather his thoughts. "… I don't know."

Carter pursed his lips and nodded his head. "Does any of this have to do with Abby?"

Luka slowly lifted his head and faced Carter. "You know?"

Carter nodded. "You can take a week off to hide, but it still won't stop others from talking about it … so … what happened?"

Luka stood up and began to pace the room. He brought his hand to his head as his eyes darted from each corners of the room. "I don't know. Things were going great you know?" This time, he turned his attention to Carter. "We were happy … Then, all of a sudden, she ends it. She said she didn't love me anymore." Luka walked over to the couch and sat down next to Carter. "I don't know … maybe I moved things too quickly. I just … I thought she was the one, you know?"

Carter patted Luka on the back. "I know. I think everyone saw how much you loved her. I'm sorry that this had to happen to you."

Luka snorted. "Yeah … thanks."

"No really. You're a good guy Luka, and you'll find somebody that's right for you."

Luka ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, but when?"

Just then, the door opened and Sam called out, "Carter?"

Carter turned his head to Sam and Luka did also. "Yeah Sam?"

"Sorry to bother you, but your jogger is complaining of chest pain."

Luka sat up straighter and found himself captivated by her. The way she spoke, her soft curls, the way she kept bringing her hand to her neck to massage it …

Carter took a deep breath. "Um, okay. We should probably look for any dynamic changes in the EKG." Carter said quietly to himself.

"What?" Sam said in confusion.

Carter looked back up to her. "Oh, thanks Sam. I'll take care of it."

Sam pressed her lips together. "Okay." She said, and then was out the door, leaving both Luka and Carter staring at the door.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Walking out of her third trauma of the day, Sam slowly retreated to the Lounge to fill a much needed caffeine fix. After filling the small cup with the hot liquid, Sam slowly brought it to her nose, letting the steam warm the tip. After hearing the door shut loudly behind her, Sam narrowly avoided spilling the coffee on her top.

Sam turned around to see Carter smiling sheepishly. "Sorry. I didn't mean to make you jump."

Sam laughed and shook it off. "It's okay. I needed something to wake me up anyways. A good spill of hot coffee would sure do the trick." 

Carter laughed and moved next to Sam to pour himself a cup of coffee. "I see you've already become addicted to the coffee here."

Sam smiled and moved to the side so that Carter could reach the coffee. "Yeah well I've sort of gotten used to the strange aftertaste. But all in all, it's not bad. Way better than the other hospitals I've been at."

Carter looked at her confused and asked, "How many other hospitals have you worked at?"

Sam brought the coffee to her lips while she tried to calculate how many hospitals she's actually work for. After taking the coffee away from her mouth she answered, "About five, maybe six."

Sam saw Carter's eyes widen slightly so she added, "I've never been one to stay in one place for long."

Carter placed the pot of coffee back down after his cup was filled and started to pour in the cream. "Ah, I see. Why's that?"

Sam hesitated and uncomfortably shifted onto each foot, trying to find a way to avoid the conversation. Carter saw her hesitation and said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."

Sam forced a smile. "It's okay. I just … don't want to think about it. And I'm sure you wouldn't want to hear about my dark past."

"We all have our secrets. I didn't mean to pry into yours."

"Nah, It's not that you pried, it's just … It's my first day. I don't want to lay all my cards on the table just yet." She said with a small seductive smile, which Carter found to be charming.

"So you're saying there's hope that I may learn all about you just yet?"

Sam was walking towards the door when she said, "Maybe." With a mischievous smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

After that, she walked out of the Lounge, leaving Carter wondering what secrets she carried.

Hours later, Sam was home. After closing the door to her undersized hotel room, she gradually made her way to the bed and crashed onto it. She took out her cell-phone and opened her voice mail. She saw that she had two messages.

The first one was from one of her co-workers from the last hospital she worked at, asking her why she left and to give her a call once she got this message. Sam erased it and went on the next message. The voice on the other end sent chills down her spine. "Hey Sammy, you know who this is. Why'd you run again? You know I'll find you again Sammy, I always do. You always run, but I always end up finding you. Why don't you make it easier and just give up? Call me at 548-…" Sam hung up the phone and threw it to the other side of her bed.

A small twinge of fear rose and she had a feeling that it wouldn't be long before Steve found her. Sam still didn't know how he seemed to find her anywhere she went. She knew she must have left tracks the first few times she ran, but lately she had made sure she was careful in not leaving any hint as to where she was going.

A million questions ran throughout Sam's head and she hated it. 'Where am I supposed to go now? Where am I going to live? I barely have enough money to last me until tomorrow … what am I supposed to do?' Sam's breathing became increased and she found it hard not to break down right then. She tried to keep herself composed.

Sam wanted to kill the bastard for making her feel this way. Weak, fearful, timid … Sam thought about ending it many times. She had nothing to live for. Every chance she got she found some way to screw her life up even more than it was. Steve made it easy for her to end up hating herself.

Sam rose from the bed and dragged herself to the bathroom and started herself a bath. The water started out cold, then grew hotter as steam started to fog the slanted mirror hanging above the sink. Only taking off her shoes, Sam crept into the bath with her clothes on. She hugged her knees and cried as the water continued to flood the tub.


	5. Chapter 5

Yeah I know the chapters are a bit short. I'm going to try and make them a tad longer after chapter twelve… I've already written them and everything, but I'll see if I can revise them a bit. This chapter is short I know…

Chapter Five

The next day, Sam was late to work by a half an hour. Not getting much sleep the previous night, she took her time getting ready that morning, dreading going to a hospital she wasn't going to be working at for much longer.

As she walked in, she heard Weaver yell, "Sam, you're thirty minutes late. That's not a good habit to start this early."

Sam sighed; she wouldn't be working there much longer anyways, so she didn't see the point in caring.

Carter noticed Sam walking in, more like dragging herself in. Her first stop was the lounge. Carter put down a chart he had been holding and walked over to the lounge.

When he walked in, she was pouring herself a coffee. Smiling, he walked up beside her. "Morning." He said with a bright smile.

Sam nodded in respond and took a sip. Carter frowned and said, "Bad morning?"

Sam let the warm liquid run down her throat and rubbed her forehead. "More like bad night." She answered.

"What's wrong?"

Sam tried to pull off a smile, but it seemed impossible. "Nothing really. Let's just say its part of my secrets."

Carter nodded, wishing that she trusted him enough to let him help. He had only known her for a day, but she seemed to be carrying a heavy load of secrets with her. 

"Well, I guess it's time to get to work." She said with a sigh, then, walked out of the lounge.

Carter walked out behind her. "Carter! We need some help here!" Carter looked and saw a gurney was lifted to the floor coming through the ambulance bay. Carter saw that Sam was putting her coffee down at the front desk to go help, so he did the same.

"What have we got?" He asked.

"Sixty year old woman, with facial injury, chest contusions, and injuries to both her arms."

Sam looked at the patient and cringed slightly. "Can you tell us your name?" She asked.

The patient seemed to be struggling to speak so one of the paramedics that was with them said, "We think her name is Louise."

They wheeled her though to trauma one and Carter started the orders, "Okay, we need to get an air way through her neck going."

Sam went to the tray and quickly grabbed the tube and handed it to Carter. An officer that was assigned to the case walked by Sam and looked at Louise. "Do you think I can ask her a couple of questions?"

Carter was about to insert the tube when Louise seemed to be struggling to breath. "I don't think that's a good idea right now." He said. The officer nodded and moved to the side.

"Sam, can you get suction?" Carter asked.

Sam grabbed suction and began to suction her mouth as Carter tried again to insert the tube. Louise continued to struggle as she tried to get Sam to stop suctioning her mouth. "Stop." Louise managed. Carter gave Sam a look and Sam stopped. "I … was …raped."

Sam froze as Carter quickly inserted the tube. "Suction?" Carter said and he noticed that Sam wasn't moving. "Sam? I need suction." Sam still hadn't moved, Carter sighed and grabbed suction from her and began to suction Louise himself. 

After Louise was stable, Carter and Sam left the room. Sam turned towards the window that looked in on Louise and stared in, her eyes blank. Carter walked over to her. "What happened in there?" He asked.

Sam's attention seemed to be brought back and she turned her head and looked at Carter. "Hmm?"

Carter walked closer to her and looked in the trauma room. "What happened in there? You froze."

Sam tensed. "I … uh … I need to get a rape kit…" She stuttered with what she was saying and Carter couldn't make out a single word.

"Let me guess, …" He said, "another one of your secrets?"

Sam opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it, and then nodded dejectedly.


	6. Chapter 6

Don't worry, there will be more Abby to come. The main characters are: Carter, Sam, Luka and Abby. It's kind of a love triangle … with one more angle. Okay so, it's a love square. Sounds corny I know. :P

Chapter Six

"Did you see your attacker?"

Louise nodded. Sam stood idly by, feeling helpless, sensing how hard it was for Louise to think, let alone talk, about what had happened. 

"Would you be able to recognize him if you saw him again?" 

Louise nodded again; a tear making it's way down her bruised cheek. Suddenly, she started coughing and the reporter stepped back. "What's going on?"

Sam grabbed suction. "Just a little mucus in her tube. Alright Louise I'm going to take out your tube for a second." Sam took out the tube and began to suction out the mucus as Louise struggled to breathe. Sam inserted the tube back in and Louise rested her head back on the pillow, shutting her eyes as she did so.

Sam looked at her and then at the reporter. "I think that's enough questions for now." 

The reporter moved eagerly by Sam. "Well when do you think I can ask her more questions?"

Sam sighed, "You'll have to ask Dr. Carter."

Sam stepped out of the room and made her way back to the front desk. She looked on the counter and saw that the cup she put there was still waiting for her. She went over and grabbed it, thinking she really needed the caffeine to wake her up. Taking a sip, she quickly removed the cup from her lips. 'Cold coffee … great.' Sam placed the cup in the trash and went to the lounge to get a fresh one.

As Sam walked into the lounge, she forgot about getting herself a cup of coffee, but instead crashed on the couch and shut her eyes. Sleep came easy since she felt like she hadn't slept in weeks, and she realized that she hadn't. She opened her eyes, and then shut them again, letting the darkness take over.

--

Luka walked up to the front desk and erased a patient off the board. Chuny walked up to Luka and said, "Hey have you seen Sam?"

Luka shook his head. "No, why?" 

"They're moving Louise up to ICU and the detective on her case wanted to ask her something. When you see her can you tell her that he's looking for her?"

"Sure." Chuny walked away and Luka looked at the lounge, thinking she may be in there.

Luka walked in and saw Sam lying on the couch. Her eyes were shut but he could see her eyelids moving as if she was having an alarming dream. Moving closer, he could hear indistinctive moans escaping her lips. Luka stared at her for a moment, taking in her appearance. Her golden curls were scattered on the armrest and her lips were slightly parted. Her stomach slowly rose and fell as she took in each breath. 

Finally, Luka decided to wake her up. "Sam?" Luka said. Sam shifted uneasily, but still had her eyes closed.

Luka tried again, but spoke louder. "Sam?" Sam shifted again. Luka placed a hand on her and gently shook her.

Sam opened her eyes and sat up quickly. Luka stepped back and Sam looked at him, her eyes widened and glossy. Luka looked closely and he could see a small fear in her eyes. "Sam? It's me Luka." He said, not knowing if she recognized him or not.

Sam seemed to relax a little. She slowly brought her legs down to the floor and held her forehead in her hand. Luka grew uncomfortable and he slowly moved to the couch, seating himself beside her. "Are you okay?" Was the first thing he could think of to say.

Sam brought her head up to face him and nodded. "Yeah … I'm fine."

Luka knew it was lie. It was written all over her face, but he didn't want to press her further. He hardly knew her, and he didn't want their friendship to start out with him urging her to open up. So, he simply said, "Okay. Uh, the detective working on Louise's case wanted to ask you a question."

Sam closed her eyes again and tried not to fall asleep. "Okay …" Shaking herself from falling asleep again, she stood up. Before she forgot, she turned to Luka. "Um, thanks for telling me."

"No problem."


End file.
